The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of apparatus for the storage of flat products, especially printed products, arriving in an imbricated product formation.
Generally speaking, the storage apparatus of the present development is of the type which comprises a rotatably mounted and driveable winding core to which there are infed from below the products, and at least one rotatable supply spool mounted forwardly of the winding core with regard to the conveying or feed direction of the products which are to be wound-up. The supply spool serves for supplying a separation or partition band which travels beneath the path of travel of the products. The separation band is connected at one end with the winding core and, during the winding-up of the products, travels from below onto the winding core and due to a braking action is held under a tensional stress or tension.
With one such type of apparatus as is known from the German Patent Publication No. 2,544,135, a winding core is rotatably and detachably mounted in a stationary frame. This winding core and the wound package formed thereon, as the case may be, has wrapped about a portion of its circumference pressure bands or tapes which are further guided at a rocker member or balance bearing tangentially at the wound package. By means of this rocker member or balance the products arriving in an imbricated product formation are infed from below to the winding core. The winding-up of the infed products upon the winding core is accomplished by rotating the same or the package, respectively, due to the frictional contact of the pressure bands at the circumference of the wound package. In order to render possible an accomodation of the pressure bands to the varying diameter of the wound package it is necessary to provide complicated guide means for such pressure bands.
Between the wound layers or plies of the package there is wound a separation or partition band which is withdrawn from a supply roll arranged beneath the product stream and forwardly of the winding core in the stationary frame, viewed with respect to the conveying direction of the products. The separation band which is inputted to the winding core is braked by a pair of rolls.
If all of the products have been wound-up upon the winding core, then the separation band is wrapped twice while empty around the wound package and then is secured manually by means of adhesive tapes at the wound package. Finally, the separation band is severed behind the adhesive bonding location. The wound package is then exchanged for a new, empty winding core, by means of which there now must be manually connected the free end of the separation band which arrives from the supply roll.
In order to remove the stored products out of the wound package such is mounted in a stationary frame. The end of the separation band, prior to the start of the unwinding operation, must be manually connected with a driveable wind-up spool which is fixedly arranged in the frame. By means of conveyor bands bearing at the circumference of the wound package the latter is placed into rotation while being braked. Such type of wind-off or unwinding station has been disclosed, for instance, in German Pat. No. 2,526,432.
The described cutting-through or severing of the separation band at the end of the winding operation and the manual connection of the separation band with a new winding core and with the wind-up spool during the unwinding operation is extremely time-consuming and precludes the automation of the winding-up and winding-off operations.
The severing of the separation band, after fabrication of a wound package, then can lead to difficulties if, following the winding-off of the products from the winding core, the separation or winding band must be used for the formation of a new package. If this new package requires a greater length of the separation or winding band because of a larger package diameter or because of a reduced thickness of the products which are to be wound-up, then there is necessitated a time-consuming attachment of further band sections.